The shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, has said the prime minister is highly unlikely to secure the meaningful changes to her Brexit deal that will be necessary for it to pass the House of Commons in January.
Opening a three-hour debate on the government’s decision to ramp up no-deal planning, Starmer said that without such changes “the majority in this house are not likely to support the prime minister’s deal, whenever it is put”.
Starmer accused the prime minister of pulling the vote in order to “run the clock down” and playing up the risks of no deal in the hope of convincing MPs to back her.
“I really think it is the duty of the government and the PM to stand at the dispatch box and rule out no deal,” he said.
Labour is keen to show it is maintaining the pressure on Theresa May – despite pulling back from tabling a motion of no confidence in her government earlier this week.
Demanding a three-hour debate is one of the tools at MPs’ disposal to challenge the government, if they feel measures are being railroaded through without scrutiny.
Downing Street announced on Tuesday, after a three-hour cabinet meeting, that the government would “ramp up” no-deal preparations dramatically – with…
